Lans Parda
Lans Parda is the protagonist of the first novel of The Ascendant. Dark, rational and cunning, Parda is an amoral, selfish, self-centered individual who seems to only care about himself, although he does not seem to express any particular malice towards others and occasionally helps others around him when his own position is secure. He is a drug addict and addicted to the opiate-like drug Ama, and spends most of his time preoccupied with getting his next fix and administering the drug as his most prominent short-and-long-term goal for himself. He is reclusive and suspicious of others, preferring to be alone. Despite his antisocial nature, he displays a quiet confidence and depth that earns him the respect of those in the Rujo. He is not malicious, and displays occasional acts of kindness when his own position is secure. What are some positive aspects of himself? He is not malicious in nature He is intelligent, and cunning Although self-controlled, his identity is influence-able, and he is influenced by the people around him Introduced to the novel as an amoral and selfish character, Parda's character evolves throughout the novel and becomes one increasingly loving, caring and accepting of the world. Bio: Parda was born in a neighborhood in Vos to a Saarthi family. He was relatively wealthy. His father was successful. His family was slightly religious growing up. Parda attended nice and private schools. He displayed intelligence, and did excellent academically. He was not exceptionally rebellious, and stayed 'close to the grain'. He was selected for an elite military program after high school, similar to going to West Point or the Air Force Academy or something like that. In this military program, Parda was trained as a soldier and a computer scientist and specialized in cybersecurity systems. At one point, Parda was stationed in a region in the far northwest from Vos, a snowy mountainous area rich in mining and minerals. During his time there, him and a group of Saarthi (or perhaps, others) became radicalized. They may have discovered something there in the mountains that was special, and he may have been involved in this in some way. He became radicalized on a variant of ancient Saarthi traditions known as the Philosophy of Hate. Somehow, this ended up in violence occurring and perhaps a wholesale murder of the local populace, although I am not sure why this would happen. The Government intervened upon learning of the radicalization, and sought to kill all of the radicalized soldiers. They attacked the military complex in the snowy mountains with helicopters and army forces en masse. During the chaos, Parda was separated from his fellow radicalized soldiers. He managed to escape into the mountains, barely survived, and ended up in the slums of Vos. With no legal Government identity, his family and accomplices 'disappeared' by the government, and presuming his fellow radical fighters dead, he became a drug addict in the slums, living like an animal for years. He was introduced to the Lakes through a connection in the drug underworld. He provided some help with cybersecurity in return for their help. They agreed that he would help them with a major job, and in return he would be safely escorted out of the city to Ostia where he could spend the rest of his days in peace. The job was successful, but he was nearly killed in the process and his back was permanently disfigured by burns from the exploding power plant. He was sent to Ostia by train after some recovery. He was connected by the Lakes with a group of their criminal business partners in Ostia, a local mafia associated with the Lakes through arms deals known as the Grupo Rujo. Parda began working for them for money, providing cyber security hacking services by hacking government security systems and banking systems to launder and move dark money. During 'The Ascendant: Ostia', Parda increasingly becomes connected with a group of gunrunners associated with the Lakes that abide by the Philosophy of Love. He becomes influenced by their values and ways, increasingly associating himself with them, culminating in taking the drug ____, a psychedelic that temporarily allows him to see the universe and the errors in his ways. Parda becomes separated from these people by ___________. Some sort of rejection that sends him back into his cycle of addiction and regret.